Boxcar
A boxcar is a house car with side doors, for freight that needs a roof and walls.
A closed room on wheels
A boxcar has a roof, walls, a floor, and doors in the sides. The doors may be sliding, plug, or double. There are no roof hatches and no bottom gates. You load it from the side, the way you would load a truck trailer.
Paper, canned goods, packaged freight, and a long list of general merchandise move this way. An insulated boxcar or a refrigerator car is a relative: still a house car, with a different type letter and a different job. A covered hopper is not a boxcar, even though both are closed.
Height is the other clue
A plain boxcar is often Plate C. A high-cube boxcar is taller, Plate E or beyond, and it is restricted to routes that can take that outline. The plate letter is stenciled on the car. The door opening is a separate measurement, sometimes stenciled near the door, and it tells you what can physically pass through the doorway.
The modern type code starts with B for a plain boxcar and A when the car is equipped with load restraints, cushioned draft gear, or similar special gear. Older plain boxcars are often marked XM.
Common questions
- What is a high-cube boxcar?
- A taller boxcar, built to a larger clearance plate. The extra height is interior volume. It cannot use every route a shorter car can.
- How do I tell a boxcar from a covered hopper?
- A boxcar has side doors. A covered hopper has roof hatches and gates underneath.